Deja vu all over again in US–Japan trade

From the late 1970s until the 1990s, US–Japan trade relations were marred by regular bouts of economic friction. These periods often peaked in tandem with rises in the United States’ trade deficit with Japan and ended in ‘voluntary’ Japanese concessions to US pressure. Given US President Donald Trump’s obsession with trade deficits, his targeting of the United States’ top five trade deficit partners is no surprise.